REPORT | Morley, Reece put Derbyshire on brink of victory

An excellent bowling display on Day Three put Derbyshire on the brink of victory over Kent in the final Rothesay County Championship match of the season. 

Kent were 135 for five in their seconds innings, still 291 behind, after Luis Reece ripped out their top order with four for 33.

That came after Jack Morley took five for 99 as the visitors dismissed Kent for 271 in the first innings, a lead of 427. Ekansh Singh and Ben Dawkins both hit career-best scores of 71 and 61 respectively, but when the former was out Kent’s last four wickets went for just nine runs.

Derbyshire enforced the follow on and Reece reduced them to three for 20 before Joey Evison and Ben Compton offered some resistance. Reece eventually got Evison for 52, but Compton was unbeaten on 55 when the light failed.

The lights were on but very few people were at home when play began on time, with Kent on 117 for two.

Morley, who removed nightwatcher Michael Cohen with the final ball on day two, struck again in his first full over of the morning, getting Jaydn Denly lbw for a five-ball duck.

Ekansh was given a life when Wayne Madsen couldn’t cling on to a slip catch after he flashed at Ben Aitchison, but Dawkins was strangled as soon as Zak Chappell returned from the Nackington Road End.

Ollie Curtiss got his first first-class runs, but Morley had him brilliantly caught by Martin Andersson at midwicket for 14, leaving Kent on 217 for five at lunch.

Morley claimed his fifth in style by clinging on to a violent return catch from Ekansh at the second attempt and in doing so he became the first Derbyshire spinner to claim five wickets at Canterbury since Les Townsend in 1931.*

There was raucous applause from The Nackington Road End when Joey Evison hit Harry Came for successive boundaries to earn Kent a solitary bonus point, but he then slashed Reece to Aneurin Donald at first slip, before Aitchison got his second strangle of the day when Harry Finch flicked him behind for 14.

Corey Flintoff went for a second-ball duck, hitting Aitchison straight to the sub fielder Nick Potts at square leg and Matt Parkinson lasted four balls before he edged Reece to Wayne Madsen, who took an outstanding one-handed grab at second slip.

If that was bad, there was worse to come as Reece bowled Dawkins for nought with the second ball of the second innings and then had Denly caught behind for four in his next over.

Reece got his third of the innings when Ekansh was caught behind for four, but Compton and Evison steadied things.

The latter was dropped by Amrit Basra off Chappell when he was on 28 in the final over before tea, at which point Kent were 61 for three. He was dropped again on 52 when he drove Dal to midwicket, but Donald put him down, apparently while celebrating a catch he hadn’t actually taken.

Donald’s embarrassment was fleeting as Evison chipped Reece to Andersson in the next over and Dal then bowled Curtiss for four but Compton swept Morley for four to pass 50 and bad light stopped play at 5.39pm, with eight overs remaining.

Derbyshire’s Jack Morley said: “I’m really pleased with it (taking five wickets). Actually, on the way off, Grant Stewart is a lovely man and he threw me the ball back, which was a nice touch for him. And the fact that it enabled Derbyshire to enforce the follow-on makes it even more pleasing.

“I didn’t actually play the last game because we played at home on a pitch that was very seamer-friendly, but from the Lord’s game, going into this game, I actually felt I had really good stats, so to be able to come in and wheel away and take a couple of wickets just gives me bags of confidence, especially going into winter.

“There were a couple of changes in my action, just a little bit of tinkering that probably (caused) a bit of a drop of form, but just being able to stick to what I do best and just being really repeatable has got me back to feeling really good.”